Blogging The Boys
The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
New coaches are making an impact in Dallas.
Year two is on the horizon for Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau, and from the top down he’s seeing a lot of differences from his rookie season, starting with Brian Schottenheimer’s energy.
“Just coach Schotty bringing in that energy every day, just showing up to work really,” Liufau said. “We kind of feed off of that as players, it’s definitely infectious and we love to see that from our head coach.”
Liufau is one of many players that are raving about Schottenheimer’s emphasis on culture and building a strong bond within his team. From putting a ping-pong table in the locker room to free throw competitions in the team meeting rooms, spirits are high and the players seem to be buying into Schottenheimer’s plan.
What’s a big reason for their buy in? They can tell that everything Schottenheimer is doing is genuine and want to reciprocate the level of commitment that he’s showing the players.
“I love it, that’s his personality. I love that he is who he is, kind of has that swagger and just brings it to the table every day,” Liufau said. “You love that from a head coach, just showing you who they are and showing you that they’re ready to work and they’re going to show up to work and have that energy to get better.”
The other aspect of change for Liufau has come from defensive philosophy, with the Cowboys adding defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus over the offseason. Eberflus, who has a strong track record of developing linebackers, has already passed on plenty for Liufau to digest.
“Effort, running to the football, that just the standard of play is what I picked up first of all from coach Flus,” Liufau said. “And his philosophy as a defense before we even get into plays and things like that, just the way we play football.”
Two Dallas defensive stars are in the spotlight because of their money this offseason.
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs could lose $500,000 from his 2025 base salary as a result of not participating in the franchise’s offseason program.
Diggs had offseason knee surgery performed in Miami away from the team. In addition, the Cowboys cornerback missed the first two phases of the team’s offseason program and hasn’t participated in OTAs over the past three weeks.
Per Diggs’ contract, he has to complete at least 84.375% of the program in order to avoid losing a $500,000 de-escalator. Diggs will also need to attend the Cowboys’ mandatory minicamp, which runs from June 10-12. Any player who doesn’t show up to minicamp could be fined.
...
